Bulgaria's major and most important advantage for attracting foreign investors are its low taxes, Bulgarian Economy Minister Delyan Dobrev stated at the opening of the first Bulgaria: Business UP investment conference.

"Why invest in Bulgaria? The major advantage is the low taxes. I am sure that this is 80% of the investment decision. Bulgaria has 10% flat corporate tax, 10% personal income tax, 5% dividend tax, 0% tax for reinvested earnings in more than 130 municipalities with high unemployment," Dobrev stated.

The Economy Minister noted that Bulgaria is facing competition from other Central and Eastern European countries – such as Serbia – which is why the Bulgarian government is mulling new incentives on how to sway investors with respect to what makes up "the other 20% of the investment decisions".

"I am really glad that this conference hall is filled with people. The friendly environment is very important for the foreign investors. Dialogue between government and business is crucial but the relations between the investors and the research and science institutions is even more important," Dobrev noted, stressing an intention on part of the Bulgarian government to spur a better development of the R&D sector and its ties with the businesses.

The Bulgarian Economy Minister outlined several important reforms that he mentioned as key for attracting FDI – including the creation of a new body to be in charge of projects applying for EU funding from Operational Program Competitiveness.

He also mentioned the setting up of a brand-new body in charge of Bulgaria's mining resources, active as of April 2011. Dobrev said the new institution within the Economy Ministry issued 110 concession permits and 150 exploration permits in just one year, a six-fold increase year-on-year.

"Another very important measure that we have initiated with the InvestBulgaria Agency in order to demonstrate the support of the state for the investors – we are assigning personal project managers for each Class A investment project worth over EUR 10 M," Dobrev said.

"It turns out that the major concern of the foreign investors in Bulgaria is that they won't be able to cope with the bureaucracy. This is where the personal project managers are supposed to help," he said.

The First International Investment Conference "Bulgaria: Business Up" is taking place in the Bulgarian capital Sofia on Friday.

"Bulgaria: Business UP" is a new initiative designed to analyze and promote Bulgaria's advantages as a foreign investment destination.

The goal of the "Bulgaria: Business UP" investment conference is to present to the international business community the highly favorable investment climate in Bulgaria as well as the variety of opportunities for successful and sustainable business that the country has to offer.

"Bulgaria: Business UP" is organized by Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency), the largest Bularian English-language media, and Novinite.bg, a Bulgarian-language news website, together with the InvestBulgaria Agency.